Nose cones for missiles or rockets



June 11, 1963 A. A. ONDREJKA 3,093,078

NOSE CONES FOR MISSILES OR ROCKETS Filed April 15, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 4 /a i j A8 LY/.44.. 4%) z/vsxs June 11, 1963 A. A. ONDREJKA 3,093,078

NOSE CONES FOR MISSILES 0R ROCKETS Filed April 15, 1960 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v .22 /6 I l7 20 A9 j /a INVENTOR. /47',4.J/Y 195/64 United States Patent C) 3,093,078 NOSE CONES FOR MISSILES R ROCKETS Albert A. Ondrejka, Delta Ave., Rome, N.Y. Filed Apr. 15, 1960, Ser. No. 22,653

. 6 Claims. (Cl. 10.2-92.5) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), sec. 266) The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the United States Government for Government purposes without payment to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention relates generally to nose cones for missiles or rockets and, more particularly, to a structure and design which is eificient during a flight lvertically through the atmosphere into outer space, and also for the re-entry condition. Presently existing nose cones utilized on missiles, which are to enter and return from outer space, are provided with relatively blunt nose portions and/or are made of materials that ablate when entering the atmosphere.

This invention is characterized by the use of a sharppointed nose conguration that has the capability of converting into a blunt-nose structure when descending into the atmosphere, thereby having the advantage of providing minimum resistance when rising vertically through the atmosphere and a large drag when descending into the atmosphere. The slowing action of the drag eflfect of the nose cone enables the war head or other traveling cargo to arrive at its destination intact.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a nose cone having the ability to change its shape for the varying conditions encountered in flight to and from outer space.

It is another object of this invention to provide a nose cone which, on the re-entry condition, becomes plastic due to the friction efiect thereon.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a nose cone which is of less cost than those currently available and which lends itself easily to standard mass production manufacturing techniques.

These and other advantages, features and objects of the invention will become more apparent from the following description taken in connection with the illustrative embodiments in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

:FIGURE 1 is a cross-sectional view of the nose cone, showing a portion of the war head or cargo-carrying section.

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional view of the nose cone when the plastic condition is obtained and the shape thereof is changed from that of FIGURE 1 upon re-entry into the atmosphere.

FIGURE 3 is a cross-sectional view of the nose cone of FIGURE 1, showing a further flattening during the re-entry condition.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional view of the arrangement of FIGURE 1 in its final shape after re-entry; and

FIGURE 5 is an alternative embodiment of the nose cone from that depicted in FIGURE 1, with a metallic portion for aiding the obtaining of the plastic state of the nose cone wall.

Referring to FIGURE 1, represents the nose cone wherein the shape is relatively sharp or needlenosed for ascent efliciently through the earths atmosphere. The cone is made of a high melting point glass which is hollow, thereby forming an inner wall surface 11 and an outer wall surfiace 12 in the general shape shown. ,The inner wall portion 11 generally defines a conical shape. The lower section designated at 13, because of the dilference in configuration between inner wall 11 and outer wall 12, is relatively thin. The lowermost portion of inner surfiace 11 is generally spherical and is bent inwardly at 14 to form a base of the nose cone 10 which is secured to the body 20 of the missile or rocket. L-shaped bolts 15 with nuts 16 are utilized to secure the cone 10 to 20 by arranging the lip portion of bolt 15 to engage the base 14 while the threaded portion of the bolt extends through the top of the missile body to receive the clamping action of the nut.

Glass forms an ideal material for construction of the nose cone, since it is readily available and can be given a high melting point. It has the further property of being a relatively good insulator of heat and can be shaped very easily when heated by casting, pressing or blowing. A pressurized tank 17 is connected with the nose cone 10 by means of orifice 18 in the top portion of body 20, as shown. The main portion of the tank 17 is supported in the body 20 by means of brackets 19 which are in engagement with the wall of the body 20 and the tank 17. The tank .17 contains an inert gas such as nitrogen or argon under pressure, the purpose of which will be explained below relative to the operation of the device. A thermal insulating material 21 is fastened on the inside of the wall of the body 20 in order to protect the war head or traveling cargo.

When the missile or rocket is sent into flight, the pointed nose cone, as shown in FIGURE 1, has minimum drag. As the missile hurtles through space, the air contained in the hollow portion 'of the nose cone 10, as defined by the surface 11, escapes around the junction of lip 14 and body 20, thereby leaving a vacuum.

FIGURE 2 denotes the missile as it descends toward the target. No part of the nose cone is ablated. The nose cone, upon hitting molecules of air on the outer fringes of the atmosphere, tends to heat up due to the frictional forces thereon. Penetration into the earths atmosphere increases the temperature on nose cone 10 until the temperature of thin-walled portion 13 reaches the plastic state. At this point, a relief valve 22 at the mouth portion of the tank 17 is opened thermostatically and allows the inert gas to rush into the interior of the nose cone 10 to fill the vacuum in the cone chamber and to disten-d the thin-walled portion 13 into the bulbous form shown in FIGURE 2. The increased resistance of the atmosphere tends to flatten the cone to the general shape shown in FIGURE 3. This further flattening of the bulbous form results in increasing the drag of the rocket or missile, thereby slowing its speed as it approaches its target.

FIGURE 4 shows the shape of the nose cone when further air resistance increases the flattening effect of the cone to a point where it drapes a portion of the nose cone over cargo body 20. The glass is in a molten condition; therefore, thermo-insulation 21 is provided to protect the contents contained within the body from the heat of the glass.

The alternative embodiment shown in FIGURE 5 has basically the same structure and shape as that shown in FIGURE 1; however, the thin-walled portion 13 has a metallic sleeve or plated metal film 30 secured in this area in order to enable a speeding up of the plastic state of the thin walled section when desired. When a highly polished surface of the nose cone is desired, the sleeve 30 may be imbedded in the surface.

Although this invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it will be understood to those skilled in the art that the particular shapes, length and taper of the cone, internal dimensions, etc., may be varied. 1 intend to be limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

51. A nose cone for a missile or rocket which is of a shape which is eflicient during flight through an atmosphere into outer space and also etficient for the re-entry condition, comprising a hollow nose cone of a generally pointed, streamline shape having an inner and outer surface contoured to provide a reduced wall thickness at the base of said nose cone, said nose cone being formed of a thermoplastic material adapted to become plastic upon re-entry of said nose cone into said atmosphere, a loadcarrying member, means securing said member to said nose cone, a passageway interconnecting said member with said nose cone, a source of pressurized gas having an outlet, said source being mounted in said load carrying member, and a valve member at the outlet of said source adapted (to connect said source with said pass-age- Way to the interior of said hollow nose cone when said nose cone reaches a plastic condition in order to pressurize the interior of said nose cone to change its shape such that the forces exerted by said pressurized gas source and the atmosphere cooperate (to change the shape of said nose cone to a relatively blunt configuration.

2. A structure as defined in claim 1, wherein said valve is thermostatically operated to release said pressurized gas when said nose cone reaches a predetermined temperature.

3. A structure as defined in claim 1 including a metallic sleeve on said nose cone at the position of reduced wall thickness.

4. A structure as defined in claim 1 including a metallic sleeve on said nose cone proximate to said area of reduced wall thickness at the base of said nose cone.

5. A stucture as defined in claim 1 including a metallic film on said nose cone at the position of reduced wall thickness.

6. A structure as defined in claim 1 including a metallic film on said nose cone proximate to the base of said nose cone.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,468,820 Goddard May 3, 1949 2,507,878 Banning May 16, 1950 2,782,716 Johnston Feb. 26, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 78,405 Germany Sept. 15, 1893 

1. A NOSE CONE FOR A MISSILE OR ROCKET WHICH IS OF A SHAPED WHICH IS EFFICIENT DURING FLIGHT THROUGH AN ATMOSPHERE INTO OUTER SPACE AND ALSO EFFICIENT FOR THE RE-ENTRY CONDITION, COMPRISING A HOLLOW NOSE OF A GENERALLY POINTED, STREAMLINE SHAPE HAVING AN INNER AND OUTER SURFACE CONTOURED TO PROVIDE A REDUCED WALL THICKNESS AT THE BASE OF SAID NOSE CONE, SAID NOSE CONE BEING FORMED OF A THERMOSPLASTIC MATERIAL ADAPTED TO BECOME PLASTIC UPON RE-ENTRY TO TO SAID NOSE CONE INTO SAID ATMOSPHERE, A LOADCARRYING MEMBER, MEANS SECURING SAID MEMBER TO SAID NOSE CONE, A PASSAGEWAY INTERCONNECTING SAID MEMBER 